Update – the original YouTube version of this video disappeared, but you can see the first half of the show here and the second half here, apparently – although I haven’t watched this second link myself.
Another great old documentary about the recording of a classic album from YouTube – this time of Peter Gabriel’s fourth album.

I’ve written before about how much I love the sound of this great-sounding album, so finding this video and being able to see the songs actually being written – well, I got a bit over-excited, actually.

There are so many fascinating and enjoyable things here that it’s hard to know where to start, but one thing that jumped out at me straight away was – look at the studio ! If you can call it a studio. In fact, you can’t – it’s just a room with a load of gear in it – a far cry from the facilites at Real World today. And all the vocals were recorded on… a Shure SM57 !

Another is the inspirational use of early sampling technology – in this era of gigabyte-sized multi-sample sound libraries, it’s easy to forget that you can (and should) build the sonic signature of an entire song around the sound of nothing more than someone blowing across a metal pipe…

George Martin’s work with the Beatles means that over 30 years later he is still regarded by many as the ultimaterecord producer. A musician, engineer and inspirational collaborator, without whom the Beatles’ music would have been unrecognisable, and – in my opinion – nowhere near as fascinating, important or influential.

People loved this when I posted it on Twitter, and I thought it was well worth putting it up here, too.

If you think you put loads of effort into your recording and mixing – watch this, and think again ! Brings new meaning to the phrase “playing the studio”. No extra commentary is needed from me, I don’t want to spoil the fun – enjoy.

Welcome back my friends, to the show that never ends, We’re so glad you could attend, come inside, come inside…

I know, it’s been ages.

And, the way things are looking at the moment, it’s going to stay slow for a while longer yet…

So, stay tuned to the RSS feed for future updates, including a brief summary of all the goings-on of Dynamic Range Day – but in the meantime – enjoy this video about the recording and mixing of Queen’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’.

I was going to say “please enjoy this video”, but honestly, if there isn’t something to delight or amuse you in here, you’re reading the wrong blog.

Lots of people have asked me for albums I think sound great – so, here are some that spring instantly to mind. I should say upfront, this isn’t intended to be some kind of “top 12 best sounding albums ever” list, just some from my own collection that I love the sound of, for whatever reason.

If you take a listen, you’ll probably notice some pretty clear recurring themes – suggestions in the comments, please ! I’ve compiled this Spotify Playlist so you can hear the songs.